COVIDTestWA privacy policy

COVIDTestWA is provided by the Department of Health in Western Australia (also called WA Health) as part of the State's measures to test for COVID-19.

What COVIDTestWA is for. COVIDTestWA is a convenient way for people to register for a COVID-19 test at Western Australian COVID clinics and testing sites. It allows people to pre-register for a COVID-19 test through the completion of a web form that generates a unique identification number which is presented to clinic staff upon arrival at a testing site. When the unique identification number is presented to clinic staff, pre-registered patient data is automatically received by clinic staff, reducing the time it takes to undertake a COVID-19 test – this helps to accelerate the testing process and to increase the scale of tests performed.

COVIDTestWA is voluntary. You do not have to use COVIDTestWA to register for a COVID-19 test at a testing site - but if you don't, then you must register for a COVID-19 test at the testing site with the help of clinic staff.

Do not use COVIDTestWA:

if you are under 16- any use of COVIDTestWA by those under 16 years old is not permitted; or
outside Western Australia – COVIDTestWA is designed for use only within Western Australia, and any use outside Western Australia is not permitted.

Questions or concerns. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions about COVIDTestWA, please call 13 COVID (26843).

About this Privacy Policy

What this policy is about. This COVIDTestWA Privacy Policy sets out how WA Health collects, processes, holds, discloses and uses personal information of people who access and use COVIDTestWA form.

Changes to this policy. WA Health may update this policy from time to time. If WA Health change this policy, WA Health will notify you when you next use COVIDTestWA. The changed policy will apply from the time it was changed.

How COVIDTestWA works

What it does. COVIDTestWA allows people to pre-register for a COVID-19 test at Western Australian COVID-19 clinics and testing sites.

Patients can use COVIDTestWA form to generate a unique identification number which is sent to them via SMS and can be presented to a COVID-19 testing clinic. People attending a COVID-19 testing clinic can then provide their unique identification number, along with their contact phone number and date of birth, to clinic staff to automatically fill the screening form with the patient’s pre-registration information. If required, COVIDTestWA allows people to pre-register their dependants and unique identification numbers are generated and provided to the parent and or legal guardian via SMS.

For more information on how COVIDTestWA works - and what you need to do to use it - see COVIDTestWA Terms of Use.

Information COVIDTestWA form collects about you

When you use COVIDTestWA, the form asks you to enter personal details including:

Name
Date of Birth
Sex
Gender
ATSI Status
Residential Address
Contact Phone Number
Occupation / Industry
Health Care Employee Status
Country of Birth
Language Spoken at Home
Medicare or Veteran Card Details
Dependant Details (Same as listed above)

When you arrive at a COVID-19 testing site and provide your unique identification number, contact phone number and date of birth, WA Health retrieves your pre-registration information in the screening form. Further additional information about you is collected in the screening form, including:

Whether you have or do not have any symptoms
If you have completed a Rapid Antigen Test in the last 72 hours
Primary reason for getting tested, options include:
- Symptomatic testing:
  - Close Contact
  - Casual Contact
- Asymptomatic testing in accordance with directions that impose presentation for testing requirements.
Whether you require a respiratory test panel
Clinical Notes (if necessary, not mandatory)

Other information. COVIDTestWA also collects other information about you such as information regarding requests you have made for support.

How your personal information is used

WA Health use your personal information for testing, reporting, funding and contact tracing activities undertaken by WA Health.

Your information may also be used to:

respond to your comments and questions;
resolve your support incidents; and
send you information about COVID-19 or your use of COVIDTestWA.

WA Health also use your personal information to maintain, protect and improve COVIDTestWA, including by:

understanding and enhancing your experience of COVIDTestWA; and
protecting, investigating and deterring fraudulent, unauthorised or illegal activity.

Your personal information is not sold or shared for commercial purposes.

Google Maps API is used to auto-validate your residential address provided on the pre-registration form. For more information on how google uses your personal information click the following link; Privacy Policy – Privacy & Terms – Google

How your personal information is stored

WA Health manages the storage of your information. WA Health assures you that:

your information will be stored in Australia;
WA Health will encrypt your information before storing it to make it safer from external attack. Encryption is designed to make data unreadable - and to make it readable again only with the right encryption key. The encryption keys are with WA Health which has strict policies restricting use of keys without proper authorisation;
WA Health does not have access to, nor does it use, your information for any purpose other than providing the services required for the operation of COVIDTestWA, and to maintain the services of COVIDTestWA (or as required by law).

Western Australia has laws to prevent unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal information to the greatest extent possible.

How long your information is kept. Your COVIDTestWA information will be stored for 365 days – though WA Health may need to store it for longer in some circumstances. For example,

if you are identified as having been exposed to COVID-19 (e.g. if you test positive to COVID-19, or are a close contact of someone with COVID-19), your information will be needed by WA Health's contact tracing team, and will be kept for longer.
we may be required by law to keep some of your information for longer than 365 days.

Where legally permitted or required, we will keep other information (such as your completed registration information and testing information) for longer than 365 days. Once completed at the COVID-19 testing site, the screening form becomes your patient record and is kept in accordance with WA Health’s obligations under the State Records Act 2000..

Other use, disclosure and storage of your information

Information collected using COVIDTestWA may be disclosed, and used:

by WA Health's other service providers for the purpose of assisting WA Health to operate, manage and use COVIDTestWA.

WA Health obligations

WA Health is responsible for:

taking reasonable steps to ensure the security of your personal information while it is being collected by, stored or passing through COVIDTestWA.
making sure links from COVIDTestWA to other systems and websites are secure; and
handling your personal information in accordance with privacy laws.

But, while WA Health will exercise reasonable care, WA Health is not responsible for any loss as a result of your use, or your inability to use, COVIDTestWA. This includes any loss, damage, cost or expense, including loss of profits or income, loss or denial of opportunity, loss of use and loss of data.

Your other rights

Access to your personal information. You have the right to access personal information that is collected about you through your use of COVIDTestWA. To access your personal information, please call 13 COVID (26843).

Correcting your personal information. If you believe that personal information that is held about you in connection with COVIDTestWA is incorrect, incomplete or out-of-date, then please update your details through by calling 13 COVID (26843) with the correct, updated information.

Complaints. If you have any enquiries or complaints regarding this privacy policy or the way your personal information is handled, please call 13 COVID (26843).

Contact. For all enquiries relating to COVIDTestWA, call 13 COVID (26843).